A challenger for the WD Red, excellent! And a pretty good one, too, according to the review.

In Finland the NAS HDD and Red are priced dead even at around 190 EUR apiece (4 TB models). The Seagate only offers a two-year warranty compared to the three-year WD warranty, so at least here the Red is still the better choice. I don't know if I would buy the Seagate even if it was some 20 EUR cheaper, as the longer warranty is well worth it in my opinion.

I have been using Seagate 4tb (none nas version) and to me they are very quiet, really good drive imo. Looking foward to this NAS versions, its $20 more than the retail, but will see, also want to see the new 5tb reds that suppose to be released early 2014.

Good to see that the NAS edition holds up. Not too much more expensive than their regular 4TB (ST4000DM000) that I use and like. Two or three years warranty doesn't matter much to me personally, but I'd still consider it.

There is some merit in thinking "if it's not breaking in two years, it won't break in three".

The oldest drive I have is a 3.5" WD Blue from the 00s, still working after 2,562 power-ons and a total power-on time of 1,233 days (well over 3 years on and operating). Every drive of the 20-or-so I've used, bar one relatively quick failure, has been as reliable. This experience - combined with the data security perspective (medium's reliability, sensitive parts retention) - is why I think an HDD should last at least 2 or 3 generations, as in 4-6 years. It can and should be the case.

Seagate's 5-year standard warranty on all drives recognised this, and I preferred them for it. Used to love their "SeaShells", too, whereas now every maker uses a glorified bin liner.

No matter how you look at it, though, a product's warranty is a direct indication of the manufacturer's confidence in their product standing the test of time. In this case, a whopping 50 % extra part service life, GUARANTEED, on a critical (4 TB is a lot of data) system component is quite the boon for a marginal sum of money, or no extra at all, whether it's for your own peace of mind or for the sake of resale value. We're not even approaching diminishing returns here, especially with products this close in performance (speed and silence wise).

As an extra consideration, longer warranties mean better service for the consumer and potentially less waste. Purchasing decisions matter.

Oh my, they've put a 5-year warranty on the Blacks? Now that's how I like it. The price bump is like +25 %, or 50 to 60 EUR, so not too bad if durability is desired... too bad it's a loud drive not suitable for my kind of operation.

I just bought a 3 TB Seagate NAS HDD. Seek noise is more pronounced than my Jan-2013 WD Red, but it is very muted and soft compared to the old WD AAKS that I have. Unintrusive but not quiet enough if used in a workstation - good thing it's in a NAS that'll go into a remote corner soon enough.

Seagate's site says they come with a 3-year manufacturer warranty, so the purchase was a no-brainer as there are reports of new WD Reds having loud seeks.

You can usually find spec sheets on manufacturer sites, e.g. http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810 (go to Specifications tab, select model #). Do note that as models change, so do the specs, and they may not match older models anymore. The model version may also change without the model's number or name changing. Example: WD6400AAKS-22A7B0. The bold bit may change without the first part changing, and the model name or number is usually just that first part.

PS. If you want to track down figures for older models, try in older reviews. Storagereview.com is an old staple when it comes to HDDs (and now SSDs and NAS'); they will at least list the specs given at the time if they haven't tested the drive's power consumption themselves.

I have the 2 TB version and while I easily got rid of vibration and seek noise with some silicone mounting, the engine noise is quite piercing, in the mid-high frequencies. The case damping doesn't do miracles and enough noise still escapes through the rear exhaust and probably through the front intake slits as well.

Lucky Luciano wrote:I have the 2 TB version and while I easily got rid of vibration and seek noise with some silicone mounting, the engine noise is quite piercing, in the mid-high frequencies. The case damping doesn't do miracles and enough noise still escapes through the rear exhaust and probably through the front intake slits as well.

I've noticed my 3 TB model making a similar sound; constant whirring or high-pitched humming that is clearly audible with a direct air path. Stopped the NAS fan just in case, and it's definitely the drive. Initially I only noticed the louder seeks, as the WD Red barely makes a peep.

I wouldn't describe the sound as piercing, exactly, but it is annoying. I certainly would not recommend the drive for desktop use or in an exposed NAS. I keep my NAS and drives in a remote cupboard, where the wood panels seem to stop all of the noise except some seeks.

Lawrence Lee wrote:Seagate's solution has one important advantage: Lower price. The US$160 street price of the Seagate NAS HDD 4TB is quite a bit cheaper than the US$190 WD Red 4TB.

Oddly enough, the Seagate is more expensive than the WD Red here.

Also, if one were to calculate the power consumption cost difference over time, the price difference would have to be about as big as it is in the US for it to make financial sense to buy the Seagate over the WD Red, unless the drive happens to be active all the time. More likely, if the drive is idle most of the time, and assuming it is seeking 1 hour per day, the WD Red is €1.67 cheaper per year given €0.25/kWh. Given a 5-year lifetime, the Seagate would have to be at least €8 cheaper.

The pricing's always a bit of an issue; North America especially is wildly different from European and Nordic pricing, for example. In our neck of the woods the drives are dead even. Fun running cost calculations tho'.

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